=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-101/paper-17
|storemode=property
|title=Rich Annotation of Images
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-101/Pramod_Jain.pdf
|volume=Vol-101
}}
==Rich Annotation of Images==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-101/Pramod_Jain.pdf
Rich Annotation of Images
Pramod Jain
Innovative Decision Technologies, Inc.
9000 Cypress Green Drive,
Jacksonville, FL 32256 USA
+1 904 636 6374
pramod@indent.org
ABSTRACT transparent layer placed on top of the image using Scalable
In this paper, we describe a tool for rich annotation of Vector Graphics (SVG, a World Wide Web Consortium’s
images. This tool allows creation of graphical annotations standard for 2-D graphics on the web). The transparent
to identify and describe features in images. It also provides layer is called an annotation layer, and it can contain
the capability to then catalog the annotation layer in several annotated features. We have developed Rich
metadata repositories. Application of the annotation tool to Annotation Service for Images (RASI), a web-based tool to
describe satellite images in the areas of meteorology and create rich annotations of images. Rich annotation is a
vegetation will be presented. fusion of a graphical marker (to identify a feature) and a
structured object (to describe the feature) that contains
Keywords
attribute names and attribute values, this is the reason for
Annotations, Scalable vector graphics, SVG, Rich
calling it a “rich” annotation.
annotations, Images, Attributes, Metadata, DLESE (Digital
Library for Earth Science Education), NASA-GCMD RICH ANNOTATION SERVICE FOR IMAGES (RASI)
(Global Change Master Directory), content-based RASI is a web-based application for creating rich
metadata, XIMA (XML for Image and Map Annotations) annotations of images, it may be accessed at
http://www.indent.org/rasi.htm. The drawing capabilities
INTRODUCTION
in the browser are programmed in Scalable Vector
The amount of image-based content has exploded on the
Graphics (SVG, a World Wide Web Consortium standard
web. However, there is a lack of effective tools to
for 2-D graphics on the web). See Figure 1 for a screen
describe, enhance, catalog, search and retrieve images.
shot of RASI.
This leads to poor use of image-based resources in general
and for teaching in particular. The issues are: a) Limited RASI contains an annotation canvas, an annotation toolbar
metadata to describe and find high quality and “content and section to manage properties. In the annotation toolbar,
rich” images b) No methods for teachers and students to a palette of annotation markers is available to draw
extend or customize an image, c) No tools to interact with, freeform or place icons in the annotation canvas. When a
inquire about, experiment with and discuss content in feature is annotated in an image using an annotation
images, and d) No “visual” methods to collaborate on or marker, a rich annotation is created. This rich annotation
discuss an image. object contains the geometry of the annotation marker and
a set of properties. See Figure 2 for relationship between
In a typical image, the image as a whole is usually not
the various entities in RASI.
interesting; the features contained in the image are of
primary interest. Features inside an image are the true As an example consider an Infrared (IR) image of a storm
resources that need to be described, cataloged, searched with features like cold front, warm front, occluded front
and retrieved. We adopt this approach. and low pressure point. These features are annotated with
appropriate annotation markers. Cold front, warm front
RICH ANNOTATIONS
and occluded front feature have a property called
Rich annotation (RA) is a combination of a) graphical “precipitation,” and low pressure point has properties:
drawing or marking to identify the location and geometry surface pressure, surface temperature, precipitation, and
of a feature in an image and b) attributes or properties to cloud top temperature. The annotation markers used for
describe the annotated feature. RA is created in a the features are: cold front is drawn using the blue line
with triangles, warm front with the red line with semicircle,
and low pressure point is an icon with letter L in the center.
The RASI tool is customizable to other domains—user
with appropriate authorization can create a new problem
domain, define new features for the domain, and create
annotation marker and annotation properties for the new
features.
Metadata
The process of creating annotations is the following, user: Services
picks an annotation tool based on the feature they want to Web Middle-tier:
annotate; creates an annotation to identify the feature; Server Aspire/J2EE
chooses the created annotation and assigns values to the RASI running in Annotation
properties associated with the feature; add more properties browser with
Database
SVGViewer plug-in XML,
if required; create more features on the same annotation SVG,
layer; saves the annotation layer; creates metadata for the HTML
annotation layer and submits to DLESE or NASA-GCMD.
Figure 3: Three tiers of the RASI system.
Image
CONCLUSIONS
0…*
RASI has been built for creating rich annotations for
Annotation ÙCollection of
images. Several projects have been created in areas of
Layer Annotated Features meteorology, vegetation and others to allow users to
capture knowledge in a graphical manner on the image. In
0…* addition, this knowledge is used to generate metadata for
ÙAnnotated
images
Rich
Annotation Features ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank NASA for partially funding the development of
1 0…*
RASI; NASA-GCMD and DLESE for cataloging the
Annotation Annotation
metadata records from RASI.
Marker Properties
REFERENCES
Figure 2: Class diagram to illustrate the object model. An 1. Jain, P., et al. “Data Driven Web Graphics with SVG,”
image can have multiple annotation layers, an annotation XML Journal, Vol 3, Issue 5, May 2002.
layer can have multiple rich annotations, a rich annotation
must have one annotation marker and can have multiple
annotation properties.
Technical Architecture
The three components of its technical architecture are (see
Figure 3): i) User-Agent, which includes HTML,
Javascript, SVG and XML files that are delivered to the
browser or to a metadata repository; ii) Middle-tier, which
is ASPIRE (http://www.indent.org/aspire.htm, a Java-based
Commercial Off The Shelf product of Innovative Decision
Technologies, inc.) and is used to process SVG-XML data
from browser and store into database, extract relational
data from database and transform into SVG-XML, and
metadata repository specific XML formats; iii) Database.
The middle-tier generates the SVG, HTML and XML files
based on templates that contain Aspire specific Annotation Properties
replacement, loop and if tags.
Annotation canvas
RASI also contains a search facility that allows users to
search for images based on advanced queries like: Annotation Toolbar
Find an image with keywords = “cold front” AND (cloud
top temperature < -50 Celsius OR pressure < 970 milli
bars).